of his body. He shuddered at the intense silence between us, at my actions that spoke volumes about the worth of the man before me.
Settling him on my bed, I stripped myself bare, smiling at him with genuine compassion, adoration, and just a hint of our usual passionate hunger. I wanted him to see to the heart of me, to know that he was much more than he gave himself credit for.
“Beautiful,” he whispered as I pushed him back on my bed, climbing over him to straddle his hips.
“You are, Jansen,” I said with all sincerity, running my fingers along the sharp lines of his chest, his abs, and lower. “You’re…” I reached between us, gripping what was already hard and aching between us. “You’re everything,” I said, those tears still coating my eyes.
Realizing another human being meant everything to me was almost enough to overwhelm me, but I held it together.
Held it together for him. Because now wasn’t the time to cry and make giant, life-altering confessions.
Now was the time to show him how much he meant to me.
He reached for me like he might flip me over and take the reins, but I shook my head, forcing him gently back to the bed. “Let me take care of you,” I said.
I inched backward, kissing down his chest, his abs, and only stopping when I got that glorious length into my mouth. He hissed, throwing his head back as I bobbed up and down on him, devouring him, loving him. And only when his fingers tightened in my hair did I pull back. His growl was short-lived when I settled atop him, sinking onto his slick cock with one fast stroke.
And then I moved on him. Slow, torturous, wild.
I rocked and writhed atop him, relishing his length deep inside me, until we were both peppered with sweat. Until our breaths were one, and he looked up at me with blazing blue eyes that burned every inch of my soul. And I made sure he watched me as I rode him, made sure he saw the depth of what I felt for him.
Because it was endless.
He was endless.
And I was just the lucky woman he’d allowed inside.
I upped my pace when he thrust upward over and over, seeking me as hungrily as I was him. And the words built inside me, almost as strong and fierce as my orgasm, stronger even…but all that escaped my lips was his name as we fell over that blissful edge together.
After we’d cleaned up, I settled him against my chest, slowly smoothing my fingers through his hair, relishing the soothing feeling of his weight next to me. This strong, confident, incredible man. Capable of rendering me speechless with his mouth, and yet he could do so just as easily by just holding me this tenderly.
We held each other the rest of the night, content to lazily touch and tease and soothe. I stared into his eyes, the silent intimacy more than anything I’d every experience before.
And I knew without any further doubt that I wholly belonged to him and him to me.
Everything.
Jansen was everything.
I just hoped I could prove it to him.
13
Sterling
I loosened my tie as I rode the elevator to London’s floor. It had been three long days without seeing her while we’d played in Vegas, and I wasn’t willing to wait another minute.
ME: In the elevator.
LONDON: In the kitchen!
I grinned at her response as a pop star sang that it was lovely weather for a sleigh ride. Christmas would be here in a few weeks, which meant we’d be separated again, seeing that she and Caspian were headed home to their parents’ and Mom was coming to visit.
It would have been so much easier to go public, but she still didn’t want that. I got it—she felt like she had something to prove, and if it was between Sean and London to get a permanent place on the Reaper staff, then I wanted her to have every advantage…or maybe I just didn’t want to be her disadvantage.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened on her floor. The hallway was empty, and I’d heard Caspian make plans with Maxim on the plane, so the coast was clear. It took all of twenty seconds to unlock her door and step inside. Man, that key sure was convenient.
But did it mean something? Did she get the same achy, sweet feeling in her chest that I did right before we saw each other? Had she spent